Automobile-lock.



I. S'JTANL'EY.

AUTOMOBILE LOCK. APPLICATION man SEPT. 26; 1911.

. Patented Feb. 19, 1918.

' nnumunuuulir v I /NVENTR 5 f/-rO/H/ SfH/ej l mdf zoy automobile locks, and the obiect and adapted JOHN STANLEY, 0F SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, ASSIGNOR, QF ONE-FGURTH T BARNES, SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.

aU'roMoBrLn-Loox.

maman.

Application led September 26, 1917. Serial No. 193,228.'

To all 'wiom it may concern.

Be it known that I, JOHN STANLEY, a citizen ot the United States, residing at Seattle, in the county of King' and State'of Washington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automobile-Locks, of which the following is a specification.

My invention .relates to improvements in l of my invention is to provide a simple. practical, andl eticient device adapted for attachment to the steering column, the use of which enables the steering shaft tobe locked to the steering column when the car is stationary, the front wheels being inclined to one side or the other, as the case may be, so as to prevent the wheels being brought into the IStraight-'ahead position, thus rendering 1t impossible to drive, push or otherwise propel the car ahead until the lock is withdrawn.

I attain this object by the construction illustrated in the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 vis a side elevational view of my ldevice applied to the steering column of an automobile.' Figs. 2 and 3 are sectional views taken substantially through of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a sectional view through @T4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a side elevation, partly in section, and a plan view of the locks outer ring. Figs. 6 and 7 are 4views similar to Fig. 5 of the crown piece and o the inner ring, respectively, Fig. 8 isa `fragmentary elevational view of the crown iece to illustrate the preterred forno vof teeth therefor. y y

My device is :termed of a hollow boss 1 'provided4 with a 'halt clamp' portion 2 whereby it may be rotatably attached to the steering column or gear case, as shown in Fig. 1, by means of a complementaryclamp portion 21through the medium of riveted screws 4.-. Said boss is provided with apertured lugs 5 disposed to fit against the arms, such as 6, of a steering'wheel spider, and to which the boss is rigidly secured by riveted screws, as 7. y i

Made integral with and extending inwardly from the outer end ll'of the boss is a sleeve 12 which serves as a ide for a locking bolt 8 disposed axially or" the bossto engage in an aperture 9 prt vided in the peripheral wall ot the gear .i sa.

inthe boss end 11 and 18, as shown in Fig.. i:

duced to form shoulders,

-23 in Fig. i.

tatably mounted upon the .sleeve .1a is an inner ring 1'0- From said entendi' Specication of Letters Patent. Patented livelli, iig, ill- .i

two pin members 11 and 12 which are se l curely fastened 1n holes providedV therefor 1n the inner face of the ring. An outer ring 13 is rotatably seated against the outer en bei 161, as shown '1n-Fig. 6. iThe crown piece groove 17( provided` is seated in' an annular is rigidly secured to the latter by screws The thickness of the crown piece 15 where it abuts the outer end of the boss l, is reas 19, which seat against opposing shoulders provided on said inner and outer rings to operative positions against the outer end o the boss. v

The crown piece 15, inner vring 143 and outer ring 13 are each provided with a slot., as indicated respectively in Figs. 5. land by numerals 2'0, 21 and 22, and as the crown piece vis stationary and the ring pin 1e rotatable, it will be evident that the slotsy 21 and Qmay be brought to registerone with :the other and with theslot 20. in the crown piece to vaord a continuous slot, as indicated by The outer end of bolt 8 isse'cured by means or rivet 24 to a cap the outer end of the boss thereon.

- Nithin said boss' and extending radially 1 and is rotatable retain the same in i llof the boss and is provided with a pinla 25 which incloses from said arbor is aiinger 26, the purposev of which more fully described hereinafter. The length ot the bolt 8 is such that it may lines in Fig. 3.

2? represents a spring mounted on the bolt 8' between the cap 25 and the end of the boss, and which spring tends to yieldingly hold the cap in the position in which it is indicated by brolen lines 251 in Fig. The manner in which my loch is used and operates may be described brieiy as follows: The device,'as above explained, is inedly secured to the steering the locking bolt is positioned engage in, the hole 9 oz? the casing 3 when the wheels et the vetri-ea to which my ation wheel spider so that:

iet

ltlltll is applied are inclined a certain amount to the right or left, as the case may be, t e diameter of said-hole being such that tie locking bolt will fit slidably therein.v

`Wlien the vehicle wheels are in the straight-ahead position, the device is in the,

y' while the finger 26 occupies tlfe slot 23. On

the car being brought to a standstill and it being desired to lock the front wheels, the are inclined to the right or left, as require until the locking bolt 8 registers with the opening in the casing, whereupon the cap 25 may be pushed inwardly to. engage the point of the locking' bolt in the gear casing 3.' This movement carries the finger 26. out of the slot 23 clear of the teethA of the crown piece 15 when, by .giving the cap a turn t'o the right or left, the rings 10 and 13 `will-be moved to break the continuity of slot 23 and the wheels will be locked, as the'lockin'gbolt cannot be withdrawn unless the combination necessary to effect the return of the finger 26 into slot 23 is known. To unlock the wheels, the cap 25 is first of all turned to the right until finger 26 strikes a square face 161 on the crown piece 15, this beingthe starting position for unlocking. The cap is then pressed inwardly and turned to the right at the'same time feeling the contact of, inger 26 with the teeth; of the crown piece and counting each tooth until the Enger contacting with pin 14 carries ring 13 around till its slot 22 registers with the slot 20 of the crown piece. The cap 21 is then similarly turned to the'left until finger 26 contacting with pin 11 carries ring 10 around till itsv slot 21 registers withcrown piece slot 20 whereupon the continuous slot 23 will be formed, when by pressing down on and turning the cap to the right until the finger 26 registers with the slot 23 it, the nger 26, will be-carried thereinto by the spring 24 and thus the point of the locking pin will be withdrawn from engagement with the steering shaft to permit turning of the same.

It will be noted that in order to effect the unlocking of the front wheels, it is necessary to know the combination; that is, the nui;- ber of teeth 16 over which the finger 6 lmust be passed first in one direction and then the other to obtain the continuity of the slot 23, and as this knowledge is confined to the operator of the car, it will be obvious that unauthoriited unlocking of the wheels is impossible.

Many different combinations may b obtained by setting the pins l1 and 14 in different .positions on rings 10 and 13, from which 'it willbe seen thatI have Provided a lock n for automobiles which iszof great utility to the owner. of a 'car and adds greatly to his security i'n the possession of the same.

VVliht I claim as my invention, is

1. In an with steering echanism including a column having an aperture in its eriphery, and a steerin wheel, of a boss rigidly connected to said wieel and revolubly attached to said column, a locking bolt provided in said boss and engageable in said column aperture,

means provided within the bossfor securing saidbolt in its locked position with respect t said cblumn a cap at4 the outer end of the boss and secured to the bolt for' turning the -7o` tomobile, the combinationV latter to regulate said means, and also serv- `ing to move the bolt into operative position with'respect to vsaid column, and a 'spring servingto disengage the bolt from said column. -after said means have been regulated through the medium of theV cap and bolt.

2. In an automobile, the combination ofa steering column, a steering wheel'- rotatably mounted on the' upper end thereof, a hollow bossrigidly connected to said wheel, a b lt. within said boss and eiigageable wi h said column to secure the.

wheell against rotation, locking mechanism Within the,v boss for releasably-securing said bolt in its engaged position with' respect to said column, a 'cap mounted on said,- lboss for axial and rotary movements with JoHfN STANLEY.

Witnesses:

`Piiimnai BARNES,

E. PETERSON.

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